Derrick
Muschamp expertly turns the boat end for end, and poling vigorously, gives
pursuit.The Permit cruises
fast along the edge of the mangroves and into water so shallow that it
lays over on its side several times to get passage. It is clearly
visible.
He proclaims, "That is a nice fish!"
Finally, the
boat is in close position again. I
have to cast

quartering into the wind with the line and fly crossing the
center of the
boat...which is filled with people.It is a tricky, unnerving presentation.Sure enough the cast lands short.I strip line frantically, trying to pull the heavy fly line out
of the water to make another cast.Derrick poles the boat hard, keeping pace with the fast moving
fish.Surprisingly it has
not spooked.I take a deep
breath and let my nerves settle.Shooting
line on the back cast
and hauling hard on the forward

cast, my body arches forward and drives the narrow loop into the wind.The
bulky fly lands quietly four feet in front of and slightly beyond the
moving fish.I count to
four and twitch the fly.The
Permit sees it and strikes.I
feel him and pull.Nothing!(Expletive deleted.) He spins around
twice in the knee-deep water thirty feet from the boat where the light
gives us a glare-free view of his desperate effort to locate
the fly.Vortices of muddy
water whirl up with each

kick of his wide black tail as he maneuvers to
find the fly.I twitch the
fly again.Somehow, he
spots the fly in all this mess, probably by feel, and charges, but
looses sight of it in a plume of mud and misses.I keep stripping the fly with the Permit in hot pursuit, his
long, thin, black dorsal fin slicing through his bulging bow wake.I feel the grab and make a hard two foot strip with my left hand.The line comes tight as the sharp stainless
steel hook bites deep into his fleshy mouth.There is a wild thrashing at the end of my line.

Patty & her Permit

"You've
got him!"Derrick yells."Get the slack line clear...get him on the reel 'cause all
hell is going to break loose!You've
got him.God , I love you for
that, mon!"
There
is a cheer from Jim and Patty.I
am hooked to my first

Permit
and don't have the faintest idea what to expect.Adrenaline pumps through my already over-crowded veins.At first the fish doesn't do much.For a few seconds he doesn't realize he is hooked.He just wallows around making big bulges and kicking up plumes of
spray with his wide vee-shaped black tail.This gives me precious time to get organized.I set the hook again with confidence.The Permit takes fifty yards of backing at moderate speed as it
heads for deeper water in the center of the lagoon.

"Nice
fish!"says Derrick
and poles the boat after him.

"He
doesn't look that big", I reply.

"I
think you will be surprised", he reassures.

I
am thinking to myself, " this shouldn't take too long".

Derrick
poles the boat after the fish.I
gain line rapidly and in no time nearly all of the backing is on the
reel.I actually turn the
fish around so he is facing me.I see his gray outline against the bottom.

Suddenly,
there is an explosion when the Permit panics, turns end for end and the
rod is nearly wrenched from my grip.The reel shrieks, its handle is a blur.Fifty yards of backing melts from the spool and then he turns the
after-burner on, taking another hundred yards with such speed that I can
hear the reel handle churning air like a turbine.Then he stops and just wanders around and I realize that it was
my image on the bow which had spooked him, not the tension of the line.I pull hard but it seems to have little effect.Derrick poles the boat and once again the line is gained back to
the reel and the Permit spooks and takes it away.This process is repeated many times with the Permit showing
unbelievable resistance.However,
the runs do keep getting shorter and shorter.

Over
an hour later it is getting dark when the Permit is finally tailed.My right arm is in shock from wrist to elbow.Derrick is elated.The
Permit is 31 inches long and possibly over fifteen pounds, much larger
than it had appeared in the water.I stare in awe at this beautiful silvery creature in my hands and
then place it gently in the water.It revives quickly and churns out into the tropical sunset.There is much laughter in the boat as Derrick fires up the motor
and we head back for camp.

The
next day I was able to land a nearly identical Permit which almost
spooled me.The day after
that Jim got a double.The
first was about twelve pounds the other around twenty.All of the fish were taken on the brownish gray fly.We name it the Placencia Mud
Crab.Now we had a fly that permit would eat.Our confidence grew.

****
Salish
Velour Under Wear by Dutch Harbor
Gear.
This mid-weight Velour Fleece under wear is
undoubtedly one of the great clothing buys today. The material
fits a wide range of out door uses. The quality and workmanship is
comparable to similar garments costing many times as much.
Wear it under waders. Wear it lounging.
Wear it into a restaurant after fishing.
It looks as good, feels as good and wears as good as the $70
brands.
Zip-T tops = $25.00 & Uni-sex pants with pockets = $21.00.

The
Deschutes RiverThe Deschutes River water
flow is stable and good temperature. Prolific mid-day may fly
hatches have brought Redsides to the surface in good numbers during
cloud cover days.
Some days we have hit some big Redsides as well as Bull Trout while
fishing leaches for steelhead during the bright light times.
Steelhead are distributed throughout the lower
100 miles. Some are getting dark and assuming trout-like attitudes
taking small nymphs dead-drifted along the bottom. Bright fish are
still entering the river. This time of year is interesting as some
fish have been in the river since June and others came in the river
yesterday. Their color and body confirmation varies widely. Check
out these pictures.

If you would like to read a detailed Deschutes River Fishing
Report,click
here.To
Top

Crooked
River
Water flows are stable and the water has enough color to give the fish a
sense of security. Most fish are
9" to 13" with a few fish to 19". Most days its
nymphs morning and mid-day and dry flies in the afternoon and
evening.
Flies: Elk Hair Caddis; Blue Winged Olives; Comparaduns, Scuds; Woolly Bugger, B.H.
Pheasant Tail, Serendipities and Soft Hackles.
To
Top

Sandy and Clackamas
RiversPhenomenal
Coho runs are the big deal in both watersheds. These fish will
take flies and the rivers are small right now and and easy to cover with a fly
rod. The big crowds are starting to dissipate. There are many
dark fish in both river but there are also bright fish. Be there
early in the morning or late in the evening for the best results. Rabbit strip and marabou
flies in purple, black, orange and chartreuse have been the best
producers.
To
Top

~(continued
from 10/23 "Insider")
Sage has re-designed their entire line of SPEY RODS for
2001. They have incorporated the newest materials, Graphite IV
and Graphite IIIe. On 10/23 I had a chance to test drive the new 9150-4 - 15' #9 rod. It is
an impressive big water, big fish rod. It is designed to load
easy, but kick hard to cut casting fatigue and build blazing line speed.
I tested this rod on the Deschutes, but felt that it would be better as
a winter rod.

These new rods are just becoming
available and will be on-line in our catalog soon.
If you need one, please call.
We've got the custom lines to make your new spey rod rock & roll.
To
Top

Christmas $hoppers
$pecial Coupon
This Coupon is worth $5 and is good when used toward any sale of $50 or
more.
This coupon expires 11/06/00.
This coupon may be used in person, by phone or e-commerce.
Print as many as you want. Or tell us you received one. We
don't even have to see it.
Use this coupon as many times as you want, but only once per
transaction.Merry Christmas from The Fly Fishing Shop.